The Perfect Protest

Are you perfect? I'm not. But a whole lot of the time I try to be and it can really make life hard. The perfect wife. The perfect mother. The perfect sister, daughter, friend.

Brene Brown writes that "perfectionism is a twenty-ton shield that we lug around thinking it will protect us when, in fact, it's the thing that's really preventing us from taking flight." And you know what? She's right. Now being free from your own self judgment isn't as simple as saying "I'm not perfect" but it sure is a good way to start.

My house is messy

When my house looks clean, everything has just been hidden in cupboards

I have curves

I don't exercise nearly enough to be healthy

I put on a happy face, even to the people who want to see the real me

I have been known to be so tired that I'll skip a shower and go straight to bed

When I'm overtired and can't sleep, I cry

Sometimes it only takes a second for my anger to bubble over

And so much more.

Because I'm not perfect... I'm way too busy.

To show you just how much of a perfectionist I am though, I'll let you in on a secret. I made the sign twice - the first time it looked really bad so I threw it out and did it again. The second time it looked worse... but this time I just laughed at the irony of it all - trying to make a perfect sign for a post about not trying to be perfect. Then I thought the photos were too blurry, maybe I should take some more or run them through Photoshop? I'm still doing it! Still trying to be perfect! So screw it, I'll have a shoddy sign and blurry photos and surprise, surprise, THE WORLD WILL NOT COME TO AN END!

If you're a blogger and would like to join the Perfect Protest you can go here for details. If you just want to do it yourself, head on over to the Where's My Glow Facebook page and upload a photo of yourself with your sign, telling me why you're not perfect.